Pentax K10D [With Reference Cards]

This book is an excelent addition to the camera. It gives you enough infomation to know what those settings are and what they do. The user manual that comes with the camera is not very useful because it doesn't give even a short explanation of what the settings mean.

I can hardly believe how great this book is. I'm used to so many product guides that are disappointing and little more than recapitulations of the manual plus pictures of available accessories. THIS guide is absolutely outstanding. The guide has taught me a lot that I didn't know I was unaware of about digital photography, and it gives real advice on which features to use, when to use them and how to use them. The camera itself has a huge range of features. Without this guide, I'd be confused about many of them and using far fewer than I am today. I do need to keep reading the guide because I'm old and forgetful, but the organization is excellent, so I never have trouble finding what I need. Even if you know digital photography like a pro, I can't imagine how this guide for the K10 wouldn't help you. If you are making a switch from a simpler camera, or have a background in film-based photography, this guide will explain where film and CCD diverge, especially with regard to linearity of response to light at different wavelengths (or nonlinearity, in the case of film). If this seems too esoteric to be of interest, trust me, it isn't: you don't have to understand the details, but you do want to know how to get the correct white balance under different shooting conditions. The Pentax K10D guide by Magic Lantern explains, in very practical terms, how to use the features of the camera to adjust white balance, and even fine tune it. Also made clear are the slow and fast flash synch options, including setting the flash to fire at the end of the exposure rather than the beginning. Example pictures are given to explain why and when to use these modes. This book is worth its weight in gold (maybe more!).

Burian, does a great job of taking the mystery out of adjustible, digital slr cameras. A logical, progressive, step-by-step approach, leading to a non-intimidating familiarity,with a highly sophisticated device. This is surely the best manual-assist books I have ever read in my 37 year passion with photography. Well done! I wish you would write one about the operating manual for the software as well.

Mr Burian - who also wrote the Sony Alpha manual in this series - truly is a hands-on professional who obviously has used the camera extensively. He shares his knowledge and experience in crisp clear language and doesn't hesitate to offer advice on important settings. Properly, he devotes more than adequate time to RAW (digital negative) photography. After more than half a year of camera ownership, I still learned a great deal - some of it quite revealing. To keep costs down, illustrations are black & white; some quite stunning and nearly everyone making a photographic point. Some line art would have been helpful - the photo of the 4-way navigation control (p. 40) barely reveals the all-important directional arrows, and stating that 'the menu has four tabs' hardly takes the place of a line drawing as shown in the Operating Manual. Not to worry though, as the balance of the figures is sharp, detailed and very much to the point. Complete newcomers may wish to pick up the point-and-shoot basics from the unusually well-done Pentax K10D User Manual before moving up to this book. Moreover, the author assumes you have the latest automatic lenses - ignoring the fact that many users retain Pentax loyalty because of consistent backward lens compatibility. My old manual f4 80-200mm zoom is sharp as a tack, but learning how to properly meter exposure using the manual aperture ring would be appreciated by many readers (hint: use the 'green button'). These minor detractions aside, the sections on exposure adjustment and flash photography alone are worth the very modest price. Well Done!

Peter K. Burian has used the K10D and it shows. Unlike the manual, which shows you the options available on the K10D, this guide makes recommendations and gives reasoned, logical substantiation for the choices. He's changed how I use the DSLR for the better. That's the highest praise I can give.